Authors: Adam Makos
A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II (59 page)
2
. Ibid., 55.
CHAPTER 19
1
.
Joseph Mizrahi,
Knights of the Black Cross
, 64.
2
. Joseph Deichl interview, “The Last Mission,” King 5 TV, Seattle, October 9, 1985.
3
. Johannes Steinhoff,
The Final Hours
, 21.
4
. Willi Heilmann,
I Fought You from the Skies
, 150.
5
. Joseph Mizrahi,
Knights of the Black Cross
, 63–64.
6
. The dialogue that follows is compiled from Johannes Steinhoff’s memoir,
The Final Hours
, and Colin D. Heaton’s interview with Gustav Roedel.
7
. Johannes Steinhoff,
The Final Hours
, 95.
8
. The dialogue between Luetzow and Goering that follows is according to Johannes Steinhoff’s memoir,
The Final Hours
.
9
. Colin D. Heaton and Anne-Marie Lewis,
The German Aces Speak
, 168.
10
. Ibid., 168.
CHAPTER 20
1
. Robert Forsyth,
JV 44: The Galland Circus
, 102.
2
. Johannes Steinhoff,
The Final Hours
, 127.
3
. Colin D. Heaton and Anne-Marie Lewis,
The German Aces Speak
, 58.
CHAPTER 21
1
. Robert Forsyth,
JV 44: The Galland Circus
, 147.
2
. Philip Kaplan,
Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe in World War
2
.
3
. Colin D. Heaton,
The Me 262 Stormbird: From the Pilots Who Flew, Fought, and Survived
It
.
4
. Ibid.
5
. Robert Forsyth,
JV 44: The Galland Circus
, 164.
6
. Ibid., 165.
CHAPTER 22
1
. Johannes Steinhoff,
The Final Hours
, 139.
2
. Trevor Constable and Raymond Toliver,
Horrido! Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe
, 139.
3
. Colin D. Heaton interview with Johannes Trautloft.
4
. Joseph Moser,
A Fighter Pilot in Buchenwald
, 123–124.
5
. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “The Holocaust,”
Holocaust Encyclopedia
, http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005144.
6
. Colin D. Heaton and Anne-Marie Lewis,
The German Aces Speak
, 135. Some authors have placed Franz in air on the day of Steinhoff’s crash when really he was preparing to fly. The reason for this confusion is easy—no official JV-44 flight rosters survived the war so the record of who flew on which day could only be determined by the veterans’ memories. When fans and historians asked Franz, “Were you flying on the day when Steinhoff crashed?” Franz would answer “Yes, of course.” This is because he did fly that day, after Steinhoff’s crash.
7
. Colin D. Heaton,
The Me 262 Stormbird: From the Pilots Who Flew, Fought, and Survived
It
.
8
.
Ibid.
9
. Ibid.
10
. Robert Forsyth,
JV 44: The Galland Circus
, 229.
11
. Ibid., 188.
CHAPTER 23
1
. Adolf Galland,
The
First and the Last
, 299.
2
. Joseph Goebbels, “25 April 1945: Last Broadcast,” YouTube.
3
. Levi Bookin, “April 26, 1945,”
What Happened Today?
, http://dailytrh.tripod.com/0426.xhtml.
4
. Adolf Galland,
The
First and the Last
, 301.
CHAPTER 24
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A few words about sources and authenticity. It’s important to note that Franz Stigler flew 487 combat missions during WWII, and Charlie Brown flew 29. Both men had documented the time, date, and place of every mission in their logbooks, but only Charlie’s logbook survived the war. In May 1945, American interrogators seized Franz’s logbook and it was never seen again. When I began my interviews with Franz and Charlie, it had been nearly fifty-nine years since the war’s end. Both men shared their memories with me in the best detail they could remember. They also shared outstanding stories they had written in years prior, much of which had never been published. Combining these accounts with wartime records and using the sources below, I’ve reconstructed the timeline, events, and anecdotes of each veteran’s service as accurately as possible. I’ve also taken the liberty to translate German words and names into their English equivalents as well as converting metric measurements to imperial measurements.
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